Talkin Table Top Strategy Games

Top 5 Strategy Games

Trevor and Danny share their top 5 strategy games with us. A strategy or strategic game is one where the players decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome.

The term “strategy” means generalship. It differs from “tactics” in that it refers to the general scheme of things, whereas “tactics” refers to organization and execution.

There are different types of strategy games.

Abstract strategy

In abstract strategy games, the game is only loosely tied to a thematic concept, if at all. The rules do not attempt to simulate reality, but rather serve the internal logic of the game.

Team strategy

Team strategy is a plan of how a team intends to win a battle. Teamwork is the most fundamental concept in team strategy.

Eurogames

Eurogames, or German-style board games, are a relatively new genre that sit between abstract strategy games and simulation games. They generally have simple rules, short to medium playing times, indirect player interaction, and abstract physical components. The games emphasize strategy, play down chance and conflict, lean towards economic rather than military themes, and usually keep all the players in the game until it ends.

Simulation

This type of game is an attempt to simulate the decisions and processes inherent to some real-world situation. Most of the rules are chosen to reflect what the real-world consequences would be of each player action and decision.

War Game

War Games are simulations of military battles, campaigns, or entire wars. Players will have to consider situations that are analogous to the situations faced by leaders of historical battles. Traditionally, war games have been played either with miniatures, using physical models of detailed terrain and miniature representations of people and equipment to depict the game state; or on a board, which commonly uses cardboard counters on a hex map.

Turn-based

Turn-based strategy is where players take turns when playing. This is distinguished from real time strategy where all players play simultaneously. Turn-based doesn’t depend upon the player’s reaction speed. The game waits for the player to declare their move(s), as in a game of chess. This provides more thoughtful game pacing, but has a pretty significant downside in a multiplayer setting,

As you can see, strategy games take all if not most of the “luck” aspect out of the game. Strategy games are usually won by the person who employs the best tactics. We hope this video helps you choose the next game for your inventory.